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nialiversuch's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Gun violence, Sexual content, and Vomit
annemaries_shelves's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I adored this book – it’s absolutely on the indulgently long side but the vibes, atmosphere, and writing kept me hooked. Even though it took me a month to read because I was so busy and tired, I was always willing to come back to it.
I will say, I was expecting the freaky evil cult to feature on more pages. They’re absolutely disturbing and make their presence known throughout the story (always in the background, sometimes in the foreground), but I expected more? The first half of the book has more occult scenes whereas the second half focuses more on trauma and how do you even try to process and move on from horrific events. Or in the case of Gaspar, whether you can.
There’s a lot of child abuse in this book, including by the father – who is a main POV character. His abuse is to ostensibly save his son – but he’s also just sometimes not a good man, and Our Share of Night reflects on that in interesting ways.
Using both the dictatorship (the Dirty War) and the AIDS crisis as cultural and historic settings for Our Share of Night was really effective, in my opinion. It lent both a heavy groundedness to the text and an opportunity to explore different traumas – personal, collective, dictatorship/governmental, colonial, familial, etc. The explorations of queerness in several different characters were well done. There was this juxtaposition of our queer characters and most of their immediate circle being comfortable with it while still living in a homophobic and apathetic-to-AIDS society. To me, it emphasized those themes of love, longing, and trauma so prevalent in the text.
Basically, Mariana Enriquez has really established herself as an emerging favourite writer for me and I’m excited to read the remaining two collections of hers I have in translation.
CW: child abuse, blood and gore, references to torture and caged people, murder, AIDS crisis, drug and alcohol use, chronic migraines, hospitalizations and other medical descriptions (including surgery), amputations, and a hell of a lot more
Graphic: Child abuse, Gore, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, Homophobia, Mental illness, and Alcohol
Minor: Terminal illness and Torture
outofthepinksky's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Torture, Car accident, and Alcohol
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Dementia, Grief, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, and Classism
9brightshiners's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Confinement, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Trafficking, Mass/school shootings, Car accident, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Deportation
There are frequent, very graphic descriptions of abusing, torturing, and murdering children throughout the book. There is violence, gore, and blood as well as graphic injuries both accidental and on purpose that are caused by supernatural entities and humans. State violence, kidnappings, and deportations are mentioned throughout the book. In one instance a mass grave is exhumed and studied by forensic archaeologists. There is prejudice, mistreatment, and violence against women, Africans, indigenous South Americans, and frequent use of the f-slur related to homosexuality as well as ableism and one use of the related r-slur. This book deals with period realistic violence but there is also a great deal of abuse, violence, torture, and gore associated with occult rituals specific to the fictional secret society. Also of note: the AIDS epidemic is depicted in this novel.jhbandcats's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I haven’t read a book in ages - even fabulous books - where I lose track of time, but I was completely absorbed in the story. The characters are compelling, especially Juan - he seems sympathetic in the section told from his perspective but he’s a monstrous father to Gaspar. The vile grandmother and her sister are the most frightening of all.
The author conjures a world where magic and the horrors of Argentina’s dirty war are intertwined. By using the supernatural, she’s able to describe the terror of that period so it’s easy to imagine how awful it was for those targeted by the military junta.
This book is definitely not for everyone. It’s violent and vivid and visceral. It’s extraordinary.
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
e_asw_97's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Gore, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Alcoholism, Police brutality, and Alcohol
mari1532's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Brief Summary: Juan is trying to figure out a plan to raise his son, Gaspar while keeping him safe from his in-laws in the wake of his wife, Rosario's, mysterious death. As Juan tries to keep Gaspar from the family's secret society, he farther into its clutches. However, as Gaspar ages, he begins to realize that his family history is far more dangerous than he could have imagined.
Thoughts: Enríquez is an exceptional writer. The way that this book is so long and has so many different subplots, but there is not a single loose end at the conclusion of the book is truly a triumph. Each of the characters in this book feels like a real person and the personalities and motivations of each produce a strong reaction from the reader. Overall I did not like many of the characters in this book, but I think that how Enríquez wrote each of them, may have been the point. In the world created in this book, people are complicated, and not necessarily meant to be liked.
My favourite character in the book was Rosario. She was at once entirely relatable being at once loving and dastardly. Her story arch throughout the book was truly what kept me reading even though she was a character in the background of the story, Rosario is very much central to the the plot. I also appreciated how Enríquez allowed Rosario to be her own person and did not let her love for Juan subsume Rosario's whole personality.
I do not have a lot of experience reading books in the horror genre, but I can safely say that I will continue to read it as long as Enríquez continues to write. I highly recommend this book.
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
vickyoyarzun's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Miscarriage, Xenophobia, Police brutality, and Colonisation
Minor: Addiction, Dementia, and Alcohol
archiebb's review against another edition
also i really struggle with staying with MCs who are horrible people unless specifically it’s a hate read. but like
Graphic: Child abuse, Self harm, and Death of parent
Moderate: Car accident and Alcohol
ka_cam's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism